Blaudo - Blaudo Produced by Blaudo and Marty Beal Blaudo makes the kind of music that hasn’t surfaced since the Toadies hit the charts with their single “Possum Kingdom” (which you probably remember as the creepy mid-‘90s single with the chorus “do you wanna die?”). Their sound is made up of melodic vocals against a harsh backdrop of distorted speed guitar, thrashing drums, and funky basslines, with a general atmosphere of frustration and haste. Blaudo is comprised of James Creager on guitar, Yasha Philips on drums, and Merkus Alkus on vocals. They co-produced this latest recording with Marty Beal, sound engineer for X, although Blaudo is not the band to look to for classic punk sensibilities. The album opens with “Wonderboy,” a heavily distorted funk ballad addressing their take on an addiction to nightlife in excess. “Sweet Spot” is fueled by speedy prog-rock guitar riffs and bash-you-over-the-head cymbal abuse by Philips. “Problems” jumps right into heavy riffs complemented by the line “you think you have problems/ I got your problems,” which sets a tone for the confrontational aural assault the rest of the song delivers. “Sky’s Falling” loses its effectiveness after the main chorus falls into a repetitive trap towards the end of the song. The last song “15 and Levitating” picks up where “Sky’s Falling” left off, continuing a “falling” motif. Although the riffs are heavy, the speed is energetic, and the vocals could echo System of a Down’s Serj Tankian (minus the crazy vocal range). In fact, each member’s contributions come off so strong that they clash more often than they complement one another. Although it’s evident each member knows how to use their instrument to create a powerful sound, each part overlaps the other and the core “song” is hard to find. (self-released) -Rian Rochford